Monday, May 12, 2008

Jazz - Lakers Tied, Williams A Stud

Deron Williams forced himself back into the NBA conversation just as much as the Jazz clawed their way back into this series with the Lakers over the weekend.

Actually, the second part of that sentence depended on the first. For a young team seeking consistent efforts in these playoffs, Williams is turning into the Jazz's most reliable option. Carlos Boozer had his best game of the postseason Friday night, then regressed to a 5-for-15 shooting performance Sunday. Williams followed a solid effort in Game 3 with an even better Game 4, a 123-115 overtime win, the central recurring character in the two Jazz victories that evened these Western Conference semifinals at 2-2.

So while Chris Paul has the accolades, the Sports Illustrated covers and all that, Williams has coaxed his team to the conference finals once, and now is halfway to another. Just saying.

And Williams was named SUNDAY'S BEST for good measure:

Deron Williams, Jazz guard: Goes for 29 points on 9-for-13 shooting along with 14 assists in Utah's Game 4 win over the Lakers. Sinks all eight of his free throws, too.

Deron Williams had a truly great regular season and has had an outstanding postseason but is the only star to not receive much attention. While dispatching the Rockets in round 1, most of the talk was about Tracy McGrady's failings instead of Deron's role in winning. Anyone watching these games realizes that Deron does so many things for this team. He's an all-around talent. I am admittedly biased, but I think Deron Williams is a better point guard than Chris Paul, and it frustrates me that Paul gets all the attention. It's kinda nice to see him and his team get worked over a bit by the Spurs.